PROPOSED PLACING OF BEST BUY'S SHAREHOLDING

RNS Number : 4312I

Carphone Warehouse Group PLC

02 July 2013

 



Tuesday 2 July 2013

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

Further, this Announcement is for information purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy, subscribe for or otherwise acquire any new ordinary shares of Carphone Warehouse Group plc in any jurisdiction in which any such offer or solicitation would be unlawful.

Carphone Warehouse Group plc

("Carphone Warehouse" or the "Company")

Symbol: CPW

PROPOSED PLACING OF BEST BUY'S SHAREHOLDING (REPRESENTING 7.5 PER CENT. OF EXISTING ISSUED ORDINARY SHARE CAPITAL)

On 26 June 2013 (the "Completion Date"), Carphone Warehouse announced that it had successfully completed the acquisition of the 50% of New BBED Limited ("CPW Europe") that the Company did not already own from Best Buy Co., Inc. ("Best Buy") for a net consideration of £471 million (the "Acquisition"). In accordance with the terms of the Acquisition, as part of the net consideration the Company issued 42,105,263 new ordinary shares (the "Consideration Shares") at 190 pence per share to Best Buy.

The Consideration Shares are subject to a lock-up of 12 months from the Completion Date (the "Lock-up Period"). Carphone Warehouse has the right during the Lock-up Period to place the Consideration Shares on behalf of Best Buy at a price not less than the issue price of 190p ("Original Value"), should the Company determine that there is sufficient demand in the market.

Carphone Warehouse today announces that it intends to exercise its right to place the Consideration Shares, which currently represent approximately 7.5% of the Company's existing issued ordinary share capital, on behalf of Best Buy under the terms as agreed (the "Placing"). These terms have the effect that Carphone Warehouse will retain any upside on the disposal of Consideration Shares in the Placing in excess of 190 pence per Consideration Share.

The Placing is being conducted through an accelerated bookbuild which will be launched immediately following this announcement.

Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch ("Deutsche Bank") and UBS Limited ("UBS") are acting as Joint Bookrunners in connection with the Placing.

Enquiries:

Carphone Warehouse Group plc  

Roger Taylor, Chief Executive Officer

Nigel Langstaff, Chief Financial Officer

Kate Ferry, Investor Relations Director

Joint Bookrunners and Corporate Brokers

Deutsche Bank AG Matt Hall, UK Corporate Broking [phone] Ed Sankey, Equity Capital Markets [phone]

UBS Limited David James, UK Corporate Broking  [phone] Anna Richardson Brown, UK Corporate Broking [phone]

For media enquiries:

Carphone Warehouse Group plc

Kerry Becker, IR Manager

[phone] 

Citigate Dewe Rogerson    

Anthony Carlisle

[phone]

For further information, please visit www.cpwplc.com

 

END

 

 

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